For anyone looking for details about their family’s roots, but do not know how to start that search, C.H. Booth Library invites them to stop in and ask for a quick tutorial on the library’s genealogy tools.

Guests learn about their heritage in no time with free access to the same tools used by the professionals.

Located at 25 Main Steet, the library has a genealogical collection and also subscribes to Ancestry Library Edition, distributed by ProQuest. The Ancestry Library Edition is stocked with billions of records such as census data, city directories, cemeteries, wills, probates, and immigration information. The library also has digitized newspaper archives.

The librarians will help get visitors started, providing search tips and shortcuts to help their guests continue research on site or remotely through the library’s website (chboothlibrary.org).

In addition to their curiosity, those seeking help with their research should plan ahead and create a list of relatives with details already known about them — birth and death dates, places they lived, companies they worked for, military service, etc. These details will provide starting points for research.

Through September 30, the library’s lower level is the site of a public art installation, "The (G)eneration Project." This project makes the point that everyone is immigrants of different generations — G-0 born elsewhere, G-1 first-generation born here, and so on. The project’s purpose is to allow everyone to see themselves in each other, and each other in themselves. Before or after viewing the small installation, library visitors can also stop by the reference department for a primer on ancestry.com. Virtual visitors can participate directly on the (G)eneration Project website, gproject.org.

Library Director Douglas Lord believes genealogy “is growing in popularity for a reason. It’s fun, fascinating, and you can get started right in your own community. People are sometimes surprised that they find a ship passenger arrival record in a year that is different than they expected. Many believe that immigration a hundred or so years ago was a ‘one-way trip’ to the USA. In many cases, a later-than-expected final arrival date was actually an immigrant’s return to the states after going back to a homeland like Italy in order to settle an estate or find a bride.”

Reference librarians can also guide visitors to the Genealogy Rroom, one of Newtown’s hidden gems. Kate Sasanoff, the library’s new adult programmer, states, “The room has a great WiFi signal, for those seeking a quiet spot to spread out and be productive.”

For patrons searching for ancestors in and around Newtown, the library and the Genealogy Club of Newtown offer binders containing useful information such as cemetery inscriptions of Danbury and St Paul’s Church in Huntington, the Hale Collection of Headstone Inscriptions for Newtown, The Newtown Bee’s vital records 1889-1953 and obituary index from 2004-2009; Newtown Congregational Church records, 1715-1946; Newtown births, marriages, and deaths from 1711-1852; and Stratford births, marriages, deaths from 1639-1840.

There are also many parts of the collections that include New England ancestors. Examples include the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 22 volumes of Mayflower Families, Vital, and Colonial Records of Rhode Island, Revolutionary War materials and military service books, and the Lineage Books of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

For those searching for ancestors who were not from New England, the Genealogy Room has print resources that include the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, The American Genealogist, Long Island church books, and several ethnic group how-to books (Scottish roots, German-American ancestry, Jewish roots, Irish, English, and Polish roots).

Amy Schumann, the library’s head of reference notes, “Ancestry.com is heavily weighted to Canada, Ireland, and Great Britain. There is a good amount of European content, but little from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We understand that Ancestry is focusing on adding this content where possible.”

For additional information including operating hours and the latest COVID-19 precautions, call 203-426-4533 or visit CHBoothLibrary.org.